Managing Projects: Theory or Practice ?

It does seem like a chicken and egg scenario but it is not so.
Theory is subjective and practice - if done properly is objective. But again unless the manager is not well versed in the subjectivity of the situation, it cannot be sifted to choose the best possible solution to implement. It is in my opinion looking at trying to write big sentences without learning what the alphabets are about.
Yes, just the learning is not good if it is not practiced, but the intent of practice is two fold - one to execute the project and the other to give input back into the theory - to improve it by adding clarity and may be more subjectivity. But unless the various options are visible (in theory) it would become difficult to choose it to practice.
Another example is the game of chess. Unless the player studies the various possible moves in a particular scenario - theory, in the real game, it would be difficult for the player to assess the possible outcome and plan accordingly without the prior theoretical study.
That way, I do admire the Indian education system - in spite of a lot of room of improvement, it still instills the aspect of theory to a great extent in the formative years of the student.

Theory paves the way to knowledge. Knowledge tells you about the areas of attention and these are the areas that need practice!

Without theory you may never really know what you need to practice at all. Knowledge about the process leading to fruition of a project arms you with the areas that need focus, concentration and toning. These are the practical areas that need PRACTICE.

Though theory and practice both are essential for a successful project, theory provides variety of information to resolve the complexity. One can not do practice without acquiring/hiring theoretical knowledge. So it is more difficult to handle the project without theoretical knowledge.

Yes it is very true that Practice makes the man perfect.But how you will do practice without any informations ,which comes from theoritcal knowledge.No doubt both are required for managing the project,but theory plays a vital role.

"Management is an art of converting Theory in to Practice"

In India, Basically the education system is framed in such a way knowledge is imparted at first and then the skills are developed and tested.

Knowledge comes through learning & understanding the theories. Any profession for that matter is not  out of this basics.

Theories are developed, time tested, provened by spending lot of time cost energy etc by our predecessors. One need need not waste all the resources by testing the theories and reinvent it once again. Its all about learing from others exprience, whether it is good or bad, favourable or adverse.

There can't be great difference between Theory & Practice, It is only the effeciency or convertion ratio  from theory to practice. If you apply effectively theroy on your practice you will achiece 100% success if not it depends up on your degree of application.

When we talk about Project Management  it is basically driven by 5 processes, Iniitiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring & controlling & Closing. To effectively manage all the above processes one Project Manager needs to have the knowledge of Management phylosophies and should possess all management soft skills.

Hence Project Mangement is not only Theory  "It is an art of converting Theory in to Practice."

I support Ajay's comments, one should certainly know the theories to implement in the project,to get more effective outputs. A person who doesn't have theory knowledge can also manage the project, but knowing something more and implementing it practically would always make a difference.

According to me  practice certainly help to be good project manager but the project management is more than just the mechanics of the process. It is about interpersonal skills, stakeholder awareness, presentation to management and understanding your rules for winning.

In other words, it is a blend of theory and skills.